Monday, February 28, 2011

JDIZZY's 365 # 295: Emily

Emily - Joanna Newsom (2006)

Where to begin? This little elfin lady is one of the big reasons indie rock resonated back into my mind and heart in the mid-part of the last decade. I had turned a blind eye for quite some time to the genre. After Nirvana was signed, it seemed that every indie artist of note was signed up anyway, so I just had to wait for that to happen to discover them (the album would be better produced anyway!)
Then, The Decemberists blew my mind. After purchasing all of their discs, I went onto the still new "novelty-like" itunes to purchase their bonus EP for Picaresque, Picaresqueties. There on that digital platter was a stirring song called "Bridges & Balloons". It was a cover, by a woman I'd never heard of. Feverishly, I went onto the early blogosphere and searched for more information.

This was 2006.

Ys was about to be released.

She was on every page.

Purchasing the Milk-Eyed Mender and Ys at same time from the Drag City website, I was prepared for greatness, which I received in abundance from the former disc.

Listening to the second first (?) however, I wasn't prepared for Ys.

I don't think, even with all the advanced praise raging loudly on the web, any of us were.

This girl was working with Van Dyke Parks and Steve Albini...... ON THE SAME DISC!!!!

And Jim O' Rourke!!

And those songs!!

Extended song poems that unfold like classical suites swept along by Newsom's expert harp playing on a bed of vintage Parks' orchestrations.

I had never heard anything like it, something I didn't expect to say in 2006.

"Emily" gets the pick for the 365, simply because it is the first song on the album, and a hell of an introduction for those of us who skipped Mender. Her three disc epic Have One On Me was still four years away, as well as her fashion icon and SNL cast member dating status. What we had was a Sophomore disc that eclipsed all that had come before it with 5 long musical adventures that showed us that indie rock or freak folk or whatever you want to call it still had much to teach us.

I hope her next album is a five disc extravaganza. I promise I will listen to it all.

In order.

Sunday, February 27, 2011

JDIZZY's 365 # 294: King Of Pain

King Of Pain - The Police (1983)

Of all the perfect singles that this band hammered out in their five album career, this track from their last (and greatest) record is what the 365 chooses to pontificate about. Is it because it is the gestation of the sound that Sting would come to perfect on his first three solo classics? is it the never better sounding three piece augmented with tasteful keyboards in a decade that usually went with the opposite? Is it the killer hooks that dominate both the verses and the choruses?

Hell, I'm a word man. Always have been and always will be.

Sting's lyrics capture the moment of a man becoming aware of his sad lot in life better than anyone else has since Dylan's "Ballad Of Hollis Brown".

And nobody gets killed!



The perfect 90's chanteuse and a crappy metal band have covered this song. Surprisingly, both are pretty damn good.



JDIZZY's 365 # 293: Lavender

Lavender - Marillion (1985)

Punk slit Prog's throat on the great pop music battlefield of the late 70's and most people believe it was decades before critics, fans and even punks started to preach the new gospel of how important the much maligned music was. If you lived in England however, a mere eight years after Punk broke, Progressive rock was back......

.....And on Top Of The Pops!

There was Pallas, IQ, Pendragon and Twelfth Night; but none of the Neo Progs ever shined as bright as Marillion. None perfectly honored the past while forging ahead into the future like Fish & Co. did in the 1980's. While arguments can be made for all of their discs that the wiley Scot helmed before departing the group in 1988, you really can't get better than the band's own Thick As A Brick, Misplaced Childhood. Over the course of a disc long suite, the listener is greeted with a constant shift of musical ideas under the united theme of innocence lost.

It was intelligent.

It was gorgeous.

It was a smash, with two singles (singles from an album length epic!!???) rocketing into the UK top five, one of which is our pick for today. Although the lower charting of the two("Kalyleigh" almost made it to the top), "Lavender" is a perfect rock ballad, incorporating Burl Ives in the chorus and referencing Joni Mitchell in the first verse! It is so unlike anything else from the same year that it completely sounds of its own time and space, which is a progressive rock character trait if I've ever heard one. Marillion would continue on after the loss of their Peter Gabriel, with continual success that follows them to this day.

But the Fish years......

Man, you really can't top them!




12 inch extended version....Oh Yes!!!!!!

Friday, February 25, 2011

JDIZZY's 365 # 292: A Cloak Of Elvenkind

A Cloak Of Elvenkind - Marcy Playground (1997)

Marcy Playground were a much better band then their fluke novelty hit "Sex & Candy" let on. John Wozniak's pet project actually predated the sound that people believed Stephen Malkmus created in his post-Pavement career. To listen to the rest of the Playground's major label debut is to hear expert psych-pop with folk undertones. It is never better than this tribute to a boy obsessed with works of fantasy. They would never strike gold again, but almost all of their works are worthwhile. They are also incredibly cheap used on Amazon, so, uh........buy some!!! How can you hate on something with such a blatant Tolkien reference?!!?!



This guy loves it as much as I do! Listen to the care he put in this cover.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

JDIZZY's 365 # 291: Fade To Black

Fade To Black - Metallica (1984)

To misquote Cedric The Entertainer, Metallica has always had prog tendencies. Starting with Kill 'Em All, the band has always featured at least one progressive piece per album that travels through different moods, time signatures and intricate playintg. This cut off of their second disc Ride The Lightning has always been my favorite. The lyrics, which read like the journal entries of a suicide victim, are a long way from the "no life till leather" anthems of just a year before. Also, the acoustic flourishes on heavy hitting songs that would become part of their trademark make a startling debut here.

They have been great and they have been not so great; but through it all Metallica has felt the true artist's spirit better than any other metal band, which for my money makes them the best the genre has or will ever offer.

Now, if I can only get them to never record without Rick Rubin again....what to do, what to do?



If you haven't heard it, than this cover will make you a life-long Apocalyptica fan!

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

JDIZZY's 365 # 290: The Speed Of Pain

The Speed Of Pain - Marilyn Manson (1998)

And with only 75 songs to go, the 365 champions a fallen hero. For many of us, he was the artist that separated the boys from the men. When you were a fan of Marilyn Manson, you were going to be questioned by certain members of society for your taste, aplomb and sanity. He first grabbed our attention on his Trent Reznor-produced debut, which made us think about the boat ride in Willy Wonka a whole lot differently. Then, with a crackpot video and a mesmerizing delivery, he made us remember how cool The Eurythmics were. Antichrist Superstar re-kindled the nation's fear of rock and roll and sparked our generation's continuing love of concept albums.

Yet when he embraced his inner Bowie and swaggered off of a spaceship to a glam rock soundtrack, that was when he truly floored us. Every track on Mechanical Animals stands up to Ziggy, Tommy and Pink's gilded lists. Manson was looking back, but taking us all light year's ahead of what the grunge years and the Alternative Nation had told us was to come.

And then two kids in Colorado ruined his career. His album sales waned more and more with each successive release, even if the quality didn't. His radar dropped deeper out of popular culture. To some people, he is now simply the creepy older guy that Evan Rachel Wood almost married, or for the modern pop connoisseur, the strange voice heard on a Lady Gaga remix.

But we remember, don't we? We recall how Mechanical Animals made us feel alive right before the first decade of the 21st century reared its twisted and gnarly head. Although its been on the shelves for almost thirteen years now, it still has the power we always knew it did.

And it will find itself a new audience. Classics always do.



I have a Pandora station dedicated to this group!

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

JDIZZY's 365 # 289: Fog On The Tyne

Fog On the Tyne - Lindisfarne (1971)

The early seventies were an era of amazing folk rock in England that ruled the charts at home but barely made a dent in the States' musical conscience. A fine example is Lindisfarne who rocketed to the top of the album charts with their 1971 classic Fog On The Tyne. The title track is a party in single form: a sea shanty of sorts that sparkles with wit, harmony and stellar musicanship by the band.

Later on, after their album sales began to fade, de facto leader Alan Hull broke up the group then reformed it with new members. This lead to the fired players starting the successful offshoot Jack The Lad, another great folk rock gem of a band.

In England of course.

Here one might think Lindisfarne is a type of micro brew from Wisconsin.

...sigh...

Thank god my father stumbled across a promotional copy of Jack the Lad's debut during his twenties. If not for his impeccable taste and timing, I never would have known of either of these band's existence.



Then again, there are certain covers like the one below (that went to number 2 in the UK) that should never cross the waters of the Atlantic!

Monday, February 21, 2011

JDIZZY's 365 # 288: Cruel Sister

Cruel Sister - Pentangle (1970)

British folk of the traditional variety runs head-on into psych on today's selection. Coming from Pentangle's glory days where they were rewriting the rules of their genre, it is a creepy ancient ballad made gloriously trippy by the power of John Renbourn, Bert Jansch, Jacqui McShee, Danny Thompson and Terry Cox. Whenever you see an album with Pentangle or any of these players' names on it, now know that it is an unequivocal badge of quality and well worth your time, purchase and brain waves.

JDIZZY's 365 # 287: From Galway To Graceland

From Galway To Graceland - Richard Thompson (1993)

When you've been in the game as long as Richard Thompson, there could come a time where you might rest on your laurels, release a few bad albums, and tour indefinitely on the back of elder success stories.

Richard Thompson does not subscribe to this career arc.

Now going on over forty years in the business, Thompson continues to build onto his legacy with work after work of staggering perfection. One of his greatest songs, today's track has never been officially released on one of his albums. It was delegated as an extra track to his 1993 career retrospective Watching In the Dark.

But its life as an album orphan certainly has been profound. No song has ever captured the essence of the devout fandom of Elvis Presley better than this hauntingly beautiful ballad about an Irish woman's unhealthy zeal for the king. If you want an example of great modern storytelling, you really need look no further.

Thompson is one of those artists that rewards exploring, from his first solo disc Harry the Human Fly up through last year's Dream Attic, an album he recorded of completely new material live in front of an audience. Here be riches galore, me hearties!



This song can sound good in the hands of anyone, as the three covers below show.





Saturday, February 19, 2011

JDIZZY's 365 # 286: Canadian Railroad Trilogy

Canadian Railroad Trilogy - Gordon Lightfoot (1967)

When Bob Dylan calls you one of his favorite songwriters, you have to be pretty damn amazing! Gordon Lightfoot eats amazing for breakfast. In the late 60's and the entire decade of the 70's, Lightfoot claimed masterwork after masterwork for his catalog, littering the years with songs that are better North American standards than those Gershwin songs Rod Stewart attempts to croon. Today's song is epic in scope, subtle in instrumentation, historical in story and just plain wonderful. It captures the beginning of the country's railroads as strongly as Genesis' "Driving The Last Spike" did for England's. Oddly enough, when I first came up with the title of this blog back in 1998, it was for a mixtape. Genesis opened that TDK D-90 with "Dancing With The Moonlit Knight", bringing the Prog. For Folk, Gordon followed with today's track. I don't think you could find a better benchmark of the entire folk movement than this!



Gordon had to re-record his United Artists hits for the Warner Brothers' compilation Gord's Gold. Here is that version, which features syrupy seventies' strings. Delicious!

Friday, February 18, 2011

JDIZZY's 365 # 285: Temptation Eyes

Temptation Eyes - The Grass Roots (1970)

The Grass Roots were not really a band (but neither were The Crystals, Hedgehoppers Anonymous or The Sex Pistols!). They were a studio creation by the guys who wrote "Eve Of Destruction" . Still, their singles are some of the best of the era in terms of production, musicality and vocals, with "Temptation Eyes" being the crowning achievement. It's so good you don't even worry about the constant personnel changes that no one even knew about it. This is bubblegum corporate rock at its finest!

Thursday, February 17, 2011

JDIZZY's 365 # 284: Feel Good Inc.

Feel Good Inc. - Gorillaz (2005)

2005 was a banner year for music. Sufjan Stevens, The Decemberists and Devendra Banhart broke through to my ears, starting me on a much needed return trip to the world of indie. Kanye West showed that his debut album was no fluke with the release of Late Registration. Pink Floyd reunited with Roger Waters for a highly emotional and brilliant mini-set at Live 8. Progressive Rock came back in a major way with The Mars Volta's smash Francis The Mute. Bob Dylan's No Direction Home documentary film made by Martin Scorsese got us closer to the bard then we had ever been.

And a cartoon band that should never has been as good as their first album got even better.

It's not the thumping bass that sticks out in my mind, nor the mind-bending cameo by De La Soul. Hell, it's not even the monumental fact that this track finally gave Damon Albarn his first top 40 showing in America with a stately #14. It's that acoustic strumming that starts the bridge, and those beautiful lyrics sung in Albarn's airy tenor:

"Windmill, Windmill for the land/
Turn forever hand in hand...."

It still gives me chills every time I hear it, as does most of Demon Days.

So does Plastic Beach, with its cameos by soul legends and perfect pop.

God, the 00's Archies might just be one of the best bands ever!!



Madonna and 8-bit! Extra videos sometimes add so much!



Wednesday, February 16, 2011

JDIZZY's 365 # 283: Time To Pretend

Time To Pretend - MGMT (2007)

Q. Is MGMT brilliant?

A. Yes. With The Flaming Lips, they have single handedly brought Psychedelic rock back to the mainstream after a long underground sleep.

Q. Is "Time To Pretend" their best song?

A. Maybe, but it is their most important because it was their first blast of narcissistic cynicism wrapped up in sunshiney melodies that they released to the world as their first single from the Insanely Listenable Oracular Spectacular.

Q. Are they worth further exploration?

A. Definitely. While challenging, their followup disc Congratulations is the closet we will ever get to a Syd Barrett-led Floyd ever again. It is a creeper that begs for headphones and repeated listens.

Q. Are they on drugs?

A. ........yes......no doubt about it........DON'T DO DRUGS!




This is way better than I thought it would be when I clicked on it!

JDIZZY's 365 # 282: Laid

Laid - James (1993)

James + Brian Eno = EARLY BRITPOP HEAVEN!!! Eno gave Manchester, England's music scene bragging rights a second before Oasis shot to fame. This song actually was censored here in the US of A once upon a time. It sounds quaint now, like first season episodes of South Park and the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal! Come back James and the rest of you nineties pop culture references. Turns out life was WAY better back then!



Gotta love Mr. Butch Walker. I would like to thank my fiancee for introducing him to me!

JDIZZY's 365 # 281: Buffalo Soldier

Buffalo Soldier - Bob Marley & The Wailers (1983)

Recorded right before his death in 1980 and released posthumously on Confrontation in 1983, this song tells the tale of African Americans who fought in the Indian Wars in the late 19th century. It is jubilant, heartbreaking, powerful and profound. Hence, it is in line with the rest of The Patron Saint of Jamaica's body of work, and should be revered with the rest.

.......And I've always loved the Banana Splits interpolation in the chorus!



Ladies and gentlemen, The Good, The Bad & The Ugly!





Tuesday, February 15, 2011

JDIZZY's 365 # 280: Presence Of The Lord

Presence Of The Lord - Blind Faith (1969)

You can't really go wrong with a supergroup that includes Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, Steve Winwood, and Ric Grech, can you? Turns out you can. They only made one album before fizzling out, but what an album it was! Today's track is the topper, a spiritual confession brilliantly written and played by Slowhand and sung like an angel by a young Mr. Winwood. Who cares if they never made another record? They made this song and that is good enough.



And Clapton and Winwood still have it here!!!

JDIZZY's 365 # 279: The Devil's Right Hand

The Devil's Right Hand - Steve Earle (1988)

This is the most rocking murder ballad ever released, with all apologies to The Lemonheads' scorching version of "Knoxville Girl". Steve Earle's career is littered with essential material, but you gotta go a long way to get better than his redneck concept album that is Copperhead Road. He has been more compassionate. He has been more poetic. He has been more controversial.He has never been more raw or visceral than right here! Townes would be proud.



Johnny, you really like being in the covers section of these posts, don't you?

JDIZZY's 365 # 278: Mariano

Mariano - Robert Earl Keen (1989)

This song came to me because of a TDK promotional cd that showed you how to best tape your cds to the companies fine line of recordable audio cassettes! Thank God I was always eager to pick up something for free. Robert Earl Keen is one of the masters of the Texas Singer/Songwriter school. Somehow, he has always evaded fame. I can only think this is something he wants, because this is an artist tailor made for the big leagues. Listen to today's track about an illegal migrant worker in an American border town, then search out his album West Textures as a starting point for a career you will find yourself wanting to follow. This is country music for the ages.

JDIZZY's 365 # 277: Phantom Limb

Phantom Limb - The Shins (2006)

The Shins broke big because of two things: The release of Chutes Too Narrow in 2003 and the Garden State soundtrack in 2004. Chutes Too Narrow was a critical smash, which the mainstream music press embraced just as much as the music blogs that were beginning to pop up at the time. Garden State exploded the band's status, with a hit soundtrack heavy on their work and dialogue references in the film.
Of course, the followup was going to experience a tad bit of backlash. It seemed though that Wincing The Night Away was backlash proof. it was hailed in the same breath as Chutes and, in a marginal way, as much as the hip critics did for their debut Oh Inverted World. The incredible first single probably helped a lot. While James Mercer describes it as a fantasia on a young lesbian couple dealing with prejudice, it rises above the earnestness of a message song because of the band's indelible knack for harnessing hooks.

Mercer now has side projects galore to deal with, but the hopeful still wait anxiously for what The Shins will deliver to us next.


Monday, February 14, 2011

JDIZZY's 365 # 276: My Body Is A Cage

My Body Is A Cage - The Arcade Fire (2007)

Well, it's only fitting that the night after The Arcade Fire shocked the music world, we come to them on the ol' 365. The Suburbs is undoubtedly one of the best albums in recent times but today we turn back to their previous release, Neon Bible, which is one of the best albums of all time. Wide open where The Suburbs is more insular, Neon Bible is indie rock's Boston. It is overblown in the best way, and nowhere better than on today's track, which happens to be the last one on the record. Dealing with personal struggles in the face of the world, Win Butler delivers his most impassioned performance to date, with the rest of the boys and girls building to a climax of proportions not seen since The Beatles' A Day In the Life. It also helped that the best fan made music video EVER accompanied it. Using Sergio Leone's Once Upon A Time In The West as its visual source, it's crafted in such a way to make you believe The Arcade Fire was the house band for the Spaghetti Westerns. If the genre ever comes back, I think they should be contacted immediately for this very purpose.



Peter Gabriel just might end up being Art rock's Johnny Cash when it comes to splendid covers.

Friday, February 11, 2011

JDIZZY's 365 # 275: Coquet Coquette

Coquet Coquette - Of Montreal (2010)

Today we present one of the best modern examples of "progressive" music. Coming from the usual staid genre of indie rock, Kevin Barnes and Of Montreal have taken listeners on quite a journey since their debut album in 1997. What started as almost lo-fi toytown progressed in this order:
Acoustic "Smile" styled ditties, Basement psychedelia, Early 00's vaudeville revivalists, Kinksian whimsyists, Electronic playhouse progenitors, acid disco savants, The Talking Heads' grandchildren and glam rock's dancey sibling. Then , on their most current release, Mr. Barnes (Or is it Georgie Fruit by this point?) does with the band what he always threatened to do.......
make them RAWKERS!!!

Indie rock has become a breeding ground of late for the most exciting music being made today, encompassing any genre you can think of.

I truly believe, before they call it a day, Of Montreal will play them all!



Remix, it's nice to see you are no longer limited in your styles either!

Thursday, February 10, 2011

JDIZZY's 365 # 274: Just Like A Pill

Just Like A Pill - Pink (2001)

Why is Pink better than anyone else to come out of the late 90's/early 00's pop movement? This song right here. Plus, she's been able to keep it up for 10 more years, bringing grit, guts and glory to a field that always needs its champions.

JDIZZY's 365 # 273: Marat/Sade

Marat/Sade - Judy Collins (1966)

Judy Collins' 1966 classic In My Life is in someways the most "Progressive" folk album ever released. She goes from modern masters such as Leonard Cohen, The Beatles and Randy Newman to the pre-World War II German theatre world of Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht. However, what will stop you in your tracks is her medley of songs from Peter Weiss' immortal work The Persecution & Assassination Of Jean-Paul Marat As Performed By The Inmates Of the Asylum Of Charenton Under the Direction Of The Marquis De Sade. Collins captures this landmark and controversial work and places it tightly into her singer/songwriter canon. If you are unfamiliar with the play, you can watch it with The Royal Shakespearean Company cast on youtube as we speak in its entirety. If you are unfamiliar with Collins' medley, sit back and listen for a little over five minutes. You'll really want to see it after the final strings are silenced.


maratsade
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Tuesday, February 8, 2011

JDIZZY's 365 # 272: Say Hello, Wave Goodbye

Say Hello, Wave Goodbye - Soft Cell (1982)


Synthpop was supposed to sound like this:



It was dance music for replicants. It wasn't supposed to show human emotion.

Marc Almond and Soft Cell changed all that with today's classic. This piece shows that machines really can enhance our humanity. The swirling analogue sounds give Mr. Almond an ample amount of paper to write out his thoughts on love lost. Like an electronic journal, this song aches in technicolor. We are almost thirty years removed from the heady days when synth duos ruled the UK and made an impact in America, but this song still moves, inspires and blows my mind.



The extended version featured here will really make you miss 12" singles. The clarinet solo is absolutely beautiful.



And the covers! Oh, the covers!





JDIZZY's 365 # 271: Question

Question - The Moody Blues (1970)

It is with great sadness and trepidation that I confess to you all that until a few short years ago...... I took The Moody Blues for granted. I owned Days Of Future Passed, as every music nut should, but the rest of their work was foreign to me. What a surprise it has been in these recent times to discover how good this band really was. A classic album is one thing, but The Moody Blues actually released about 10 of them from 1965 until 1981, with some great eighties pop singles released later in that decade. A Question Of Balance, from the dawn of the seventies, would be the next disc I would tell the Moodies' novice to check out. It is a conglomeration of thoughts and worries, a protest album by an orchestral prog pop band. The leading single is today's choice, and it burns with acoustic strummed fire, asking what the hell we can do to fix this mess we call modern life. It is a call to arms that should become a public service announcement in these times as well. Listen to the song's doubt, its hopefulness and its anger as it begs for absolution in a world gone upside down and tell me its not a rallying cry for this already blighted new century as well.

Monday, February 7, 2011

JDIZZY's 365 # 270: Don't Take Your Guns To Town

Don't Take Your Guns To Town - Johnny Cash (1958)

No matter the deserved acclaim of Johnny Cash's American Recordings' series, The Man In Black never sounded better than when he was singing his own work. It's impossible for me to pick a favorite from such a body of work. So, to keep with the previous post's western theme, I give you a gunfighter ballad from an American master. Cash's coolness factor will shine brighter than any of his contemporaries, disciples or new converts for centuries to come.



Such an odd style to cover this song in, but damn if Bono doesn't make it work!

JDIZZY's 365 # 269: I Hung My Head

I Hung My Head - Sting (1996)

Sting is beyond a guilty pleasure of mine because no artist that writes such perfectly crafted songs should ever be considered such. Across his first five solo albums,all co-produced with the genius Hugh Padgham it is near impossible to find a moment to be ashamed of. The storytelling streak that his muse has blessed him with since " Don't Stand So Close To Me" is given full fruition on this album track from 1996. It is a western murder ballad played in 9/8 time with a brass section. While that may sound wretched on paper, it wraps itself around the listener to the point where you don't even notice it. All you can see in your mind's eye is the tragic story. I have followed Sting from excursions into Classical lute playing through symphonic re-recordings of his classics on down to the best Christmas album I have heard in years. Gordon Sumner is a restless musical spirit, but each shaded glen he takes you down will enrich your sensibilities ad infinitum.



Then again, this could easily be the definitive version for most people, and I would not fault them one bit.

JDIZZY's 365 # 268: Speechless

Speechless - Lady Gaga (2009)

Love her or hate her, Gaga is the biggest lightning rod in pop music since her musical mother Madonna. She has brought back the art of performance to rock and roll, keeping her audience guessing what her next live appearance will yield in terms of costume, set and medley. One song that featured heavily in all of the televised events she took part in around late '09-early'10 is today's throwback ballad. Coming off like what Queen and Bowie would have sounded like if they had joined forces in the seventies instead of the eighties, Gaga brings glam rock back to the pop charts. The feat is all the more incredible because of the diversity of the EP it is taken from, The Fame Monster, a perfect statement by the most perfect artist out there today in the thorny world of modern pop.



And now, a look at her non-stop creativity. Each live clip is completely different.





Saturday, February 5, 2011

JDIZZY's 365 # 267: Itchycoo Park

Itchycoo Park - The Small Faces (1967)

Three things you should know about The Small Faces:

1.) They spawned the two kings of British pub rock, The Faces ( starring a young Rod Stewart ) and Humble Pie.

2.) They made one of the best albums you have never heard in Ogden's Nut Gone Flake, a concept album so English in nature that it gives this anglophile chills. Seriously, it's right up there with The Pretty Thing's S.F. Sorrow, which is a WHOLE 'nuther blog post!

3.) They gave us one of the greatest psychedelic RAWK songs of the late 60's in today's cut. It is a ballad, a stoner anthem, and a precursor for all the British hard rock bands of the 70's.

In a word, what you are about to hear is essential to our understanding of the progression of this music we all know and love. It even made a dent in America, piercing the top twenty at number 16. On a yucky winter morning here in the Northeast, this song will put a sunny summer day in your heart, I guarantee!



See, I told you, RAWK!!! This is surprisingly good. Are covers all Quiet Riot are known for?

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

JDIZZY's 365 # 266: The Way I Am

The Way I Am - Eminem (2000)

Radio did play this jam Marshall, and basically everything you have produced since. It also marked quite a change. Before this track, you were silly little Slim Shady, spouting nonsense and non sequiturs like a Hip-Hop Monty Python. However,with this classic (and most of the other ones from The Marshall Mathers LP) you became the first singer/songwriter of rap. Today's track reads like a journal entry into your psyche. And I'll never forget that you took up for Marilyn Manson in this song, something no one else of your caliber had the balls to do. So I toast you Mr. Mathers, and what you have brought to the game:Picasso's Blue Period set to beats.